Judge's Call About Bretz Client Told

Lawyer's Affidavit Buried In Court File

It was a Saturday afternoon in the early spring of 1993, and Aurora attorney Daniel Klenke was cleaning out his garage when his phone rang.

The caller was someone the Kane County lawyer had never met-Will County Chief Judge Edward Masters-and he wanted to discuss a bank repossession the attorney had handled.

Masters said a court order was being issued to stop the repossession and to force the return of three already-seized vehicles, including two luxury cars, to a prominent Joliet homebuilder, Klenke said. Masters went on to warn of possible criminal charges Klenke's clients could face as a result of the repossession.

Klenke said the call left him with the impression that Masters was interceding in the case to exert pressure on behalf of the homebuilder. And it disturbed him enough that he filed an affidavit with the court outlining the call's content and asking for a new judge in future hearings.

Klenke's sworn statement and the court case it involved were buried for months in a court file because no reference to it appeared in courthouse computers. The Tribune discovered the file, which sources said has since been turned over to federal authorities investigating the tangle of ethical controversies and apparent conflicts of interest arising from the private law practice of former county prosecutor Charles Bretz.

Bretz's private cases have been the subject of a months-long inquiry by law enforcement officials looking into his use of government facilities and staff while conducting his private law practice.

The Joliet homebuilder, Edward Mattox, was a private client of then-government prosecutor Bretz. Mattox also is a member of the Will County Building Commission and the brother of Will County Judge Patricia Schneider, who sources say also is under investigation by federal authorities for her role in the handling of traffic tickets received by her relatives.

In an interview, Masters admitted making the call, saying he wanted to advise Klenke and his clients of the restraining order. But he said no threat was intended by his comments about criminal actions and said there was no ethical conflict, a contention at least one legal expert disputed.

In the affidavit filed more than a year ago, Klenke said Masters called him at home on March 27, 1993, to issue a warning that continuing efforts by Firstar Bank in Naperville to repossess vehicles owned by Mattox could trigger criminal charges against the bankers or the collection agency.

Klenke said the call is the strangest he has ever received in his 13 years as a lawyer.

"I've never been called at home by anyone, let alone by a chief judge, and told that a (restraining order) was being entered," Klenke said this week. "It was all very strange, but it was the comment about criminal charges that was the basis of my motion."

In the affidavit, Klenke said the judge insisted the bank's actions were unreasonable and warned that a court order was being issued over the seizures.

The court file shows the restraining order had been signed at 2 p.m. by Judge Rodney Lechwar, an hour before Masters' call.

Lechwar doubts the accuracy of the records, however, saying he is certain he signed the order in the evening.

Masters identified himself as a former Will County state's attorney and warned that Klenke's clients could "face criminal charges as the result of the repossession activities," the statement says.

The suit on behalf of the Mattox-owned Inland Electric Corp. was filed by Bretz, who was acting as Mattox's private attorney. It sought to halt the seizure of vehicles listed as collateral for a $150,000 company loan from Firstar.

Klenke said Tuesday that he considered the handling of the Mattox case "highly unusual," both because of the use of a restraining order in an otherwise routine repossession and because of what he considered to be a disturbing warning from a judge.

He said the call prompted him to file a request that neither Masters nor Lechwar, who normally is assigned to criminal cases, would eventually handle the civil suit.

The case was reassigned to Judge Thomas Ewert and settled a month after it was filed. The outcome of the settlement was not in court records.

Masters said his call was intended only to notify Klenke that the case was being assigned to Lechwar. "There was nothing done improperly," he said, adding that one of the repossessed vehicles, a dump truck, contained workers' tools not belonging to Mattox and that was what triggered the possible criminal charges comment.

He insisted that Mattox's and Bretz's connections played no role in the weekend proceedings, contending that any citizen and any attorney could have won the same outcome.

He never intended to hear the case and was only acting as an assignment judge, Masters said. "The status quo was maintained and the parties settled their differences a short time later," he said.